The present invention relates to a mounting assembly for a gas line. More particularly, the present invention relates to a mounting assembly for a gas line for use in a home appliance.
Major home appliances such as washers, dryers and stoves have become a necessity in modern day living. When choosing a source of energy for these appliances, the choice is between an electrical appliance or a gas appliance. Currently, the cost of energy for gas is significantly lower than that for electricity. This is true if the gas is from a centralized natural gas supply system or if it is from a local LP gas source.
Once the choice of a gas appliance has been made, the installation of the appliance requires connection of the appliance to the source of gas and possibly the connection of the device to a source of electricity to operate any motors such as a dryer motor or other electrical devices such as controls, clocks or electronic devices.
During a typical installation, the appliance is positioned close to its final position. A flexible gas supply tube is connected from the source of gas to the appliance. The appliance is then hard wired to a source of electricity or it is plugged into an electrical outlet. Finally, the appliance is moved into its final position. The final position is typically in line with a set of cabinets if the appliance is an oven and/or adjacent to another appliance such as a washer if the appliance is a dryer.
One of the most critical aspects of the installation of the gas appliance is the need to ensure a leak-free connection for the gas line which extends between the source of gas and the appliance. Typically, the connection to the source of gas is a gas pipe which is secured within a wall, the floor or the ceiling of the building. The gas pipe is usually adequately attached to the structure of the building to provide for a stable attachment enabling a leak-free connection.
The attachment to the appliance is typically achieved by attaching the flexible gas supply tube to a gas inlet fitting which is attached to and extends from the rear panel of the appliance. The gas inlet fitting is connected to the burner in the appliance by a gas tube. During the attachment of the flexible gas supply tube, it is necessary for the gas inlet fitting to be adequately secured to the appliance in order to support the required rotation of the connection fitting of the flexible gas supply tube. In addition to supporting the rotation of the supply tube fitting, the gas inlet fitting must also be secured such that any axial movement of the gas inlet fitting is also resisted. Any axial movement of the gas inlet fitting during attachment of the flexible gas supply tube or during the final positioning of the appliance has the possibility of disturbing the connection between the gas supply tube and the gas fitting, the connection between the gas inlet fitting and the burner and/or permanently distorting the gas tube which extends between these components.
The continued development of gas powered appliances includes the designing and development of gas line mounting assemblies. The gas line mounting assemblies need to be designed as a low cost device which ensures the stability of the assembly during the attachment and positioning of the appliance.
The present invention provides the art with a gas line mounting assembly which comprises a gas inlet fitting and a stamped steel mounting bracket. The mounting bracket is attached to the rear panel and the bottom panel of the appliance. The gas fitting includes a rectangular body which resists rotation. A groove in the rectangular body receives a tab which is formed from the wall of the bracket. Once the tab has been plastically deformed into the groove, axial movement of the gas inlet fitting is prohibited. Thus, a simplified, low cost highly effective gas line mounting assembly is provided for the secure attachment of the appliance to the source of gas supply. The present invention eliminates the need for welding the components together, thus eliminating both the time required to manufacture the assembly and the costs associated with the assembly.
Other advantages and objects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the subsequent detailed description, appended claims and drawings.